


Arcing Their Bodies in Grim Determination

by Allekha



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, POV Outsider, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:54:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21966721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allekha/pseuds/Allekha
Summary: Lilia helps Victor and Yuuri refine their duet program. It still needs work, and the work is hard, but the important part - the connection between them - is there.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 13
Kudos: 115





	Arcing Their Bodies in Grim Determination

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this for a prompt thread about writing ficlets for a given title, finally edited and cross-posted it in honor of Victor's birthday :)

The choreography is lovely – Victor has developed a talent for it – and the program itself is beautiful. Lilia, as picky as she is, can set aside all of the flaws she notices the first time she watches Yuuri and Victor skate it, because the emotions – the love – that come through are so clear. Their performance makes the piece.  
  
But flaws there are, and Lilia has never tolerated imperfections well.  
  
"Check your shoulders, Vitya," she calls out as they practice in front of her, watching Victor struggling to not slingshot around Yuuri. "Your legs! Yes, both of you, straighter!" Yuuri fumbles the end of the last lift, and she winces as Victor has to save himself from tripping over the hard landing.  
  
They are both breathing heavily when they are done. Victor has his hands on his hips as he skates over, clearly ready to break the program down; Yuuri gives him an apologetic look, which softens his expression into a smile. They are always like this in practice. It has been a long time since Lilia has worked with Victor, but she remembers him smiling all the time. Yakov has remarked on it, though, so perhaps it is new again.  
  
"Who was giving you ice dance coaching?" she asks out of curiosity, wondering if she will recognize the name.  
  
Yuuri goes for his bottle of water, while Victor answers. "We mostly taught ourselves out of videos. Takeshi and Yuuko helped us a lot and recorded us, though. And Minako-sensei taught us the lifts."  
  
She lets that hang in the air for a moment, disbelieving. She knows Minako Okugawa, who does excellent work, though not 'Takeshi' or 'Yuuko', but the rest— "You _self-taught_."  
  
Yuuri wipes the water from his mouth. "Minako-sensei also gave us advice on the dance. There aren't really ice dance or pair coaches in Japan, so...."  
  
"There has to be at least one," says Victor. "They have three or four teams! Or, wait, do they all train abroad?"  
  
Yuuri shrugs. Lilia clears her throat. This is beside the point. She tells Victor to ask for a lesson with one of the rink's ice dance coaches when they have time, and then they go on to corrections. Victor and Yuuri are both extremely good skaters apart; they are very good skaters together, but there is still a difference. Though their synchronicity is better than she would expect from a few months of scattered practice for an exhibition piece, the new difficulty of working with a partner does make its mark on how refined their skating is.  
  
"Do the spiral into the Ina Bauers together," she says, and watches them as they repeat it. "Curve your shoulders more – you're making a statement with those movements, so make it loud. Vitya, you are the one who can see him, why are you late? Yuuri, bend your knee!"  
  
The next time they skate the program, it is better in some areas, wobblier in others. Such is practice. She takes a video, and they go over it together.  
  
"Do you want to skate it again?" Victor asks Yuuri. It is almost the end of the ice time; they must both be tired from a long day of work. But Yuuri nods and takes Victor's hand. Really there is no need for it, since they start the program apart, but they look happy together, look like any skating pair as they stroke around the ice, waiting for another skater to finish his program. Victor says something that makes them both laugh.  
  
This time, the performance is better. Lilia notes deeper edges in one section, more strength in the arcs of their bodies during the Ina Bauers, a much softer landing on the last lift. She can see them pushing themselves, pushing each other, pushing past their exhaustion in pursuit of perfection. Indeed, a few seconds after the music ends, they almost collapse onto each other. She can hear their groaning, but they are holding hands again as they come off the ice, smiling and complaining to each other about how their legs hurt.  
  
Lilia lets them have the moment. Their dance still needs work, but they should have time to enjoy each other's company. It doesn't matter how many flaws she helps them iron out of the program if their connection to each other doesn't shine through it, after all.


End file.
